Dhoni's retirement

 It was early 2006. India was chasing a sizable Pakistani total in front of a hostile home crowd in Lahore. At a crucial moment India lost its star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, still needing tons of run to see through their target. The highly partisan Pakistan cricket went berserk in the stadium in anticipation of victory after getting their prized scalp of Sachin, seen as the last man standing.

Those days the end of Tendulkar was regarded as the beginning of India's impending end. Nonchalantly walks in a young man with long hair, a tyro - who followed the departure all connoisseur batsmen left. Nobody expected much from this guy named M S DHONI from a non descript, impoverished state named Jharkhand.

In middle of a hostile India baiting (rather hating) crowd, he led a successful chase staying as cool as iceberg. The cheering crowd conspicuously fell silent as Dhoni, cool as cucumber led the charge of Indian fightback. He made the Chief Minister of Punjab, Sahbaz Sharief (brother of Nawaz Sharief) who was inside the stadium safely ensconced in his box, tense enough to come out and puff away smokes from his cigarettes from the sidelines. Smile had apparently vanished from his lips, his long, quick drags of cigarettes revealed his apparent nervousness.

It's not a very common characteristics of a newcomer to crash into limelight in such a challenging scenario in middle of a nail biting, pressure cooker rivalry between two arch rivals. A new star was born that day. India's subsequent win due to Dhoni's performance in Pakistan's own backyard earned praise from non other than President General Musharaf, not a huge fan of India or Indians by any standard. (Musharaf incidentally told Dhoni not to cut his trademark long hair as it looked good on him).

Arguably Dhoni was the harbinger of a new era when Indians finally got out the endless cycle of meekly surrendering against Pakistan to the chagrin and disappoint of its fans. Soon India was no more seen as lacking the nerve and guts to fight under adverse circumstances.  

Dhoni continued to flourish and never looked back. His quitting today from all formats of the game brings back memories of his biggest gift to cricket which is a religion and a huge unifying factor in a nation divided on the lines of religion, caste and what not ! Under his leadership India won the much coveted World Cup in 2011. Three years later followed his abrupt relinquishing of test career to the surprise of tens of millions of his fans. But he continued playing for long time in the shorter versions of the game.

A la most long lasting Indian Captains, Dhoni's tenure wasn't free from its share of controversies, with partisan debates surrounding him. But what's not debatable is his commitment and contributions to Indian cricket. The man has earned it. Hats off to a legend and God to many in a country where cricket is the religion. Wish you a happy retirement life.

3 Months to Elections 2020

Exactly 3 months from the American Presidential elections, it is time to take stock at this important political checkpoint in America. A shaky GOP (Republican party), especially its Presidential nominee Donald J Trump who looked shoo in with a steady economy during the pre COVID-19 days, now seem to be staring at defeat.

Joe Biden, the Democratic Party nominee is going to announce his VP candidate and running mate this week. But he needs to do more. Though Trump is in self destructive mode, but being simply anti Trump isn't enough. Biden must come out with an agenda of how to clean up the mess left by Trump. He has a long laundry list, so he must speak out an action plan to reassure the nation.

For a start, he should mention how his cabinet will look like. He should mention names of professionals for important positions like the Secretary of Treasury, State, Defense, Attorney General etc to steer the country in the right direction. They will be men and women of abilities, not quacks and semi literate people  whose only qualities are loyalty and absolute boot licking which is the sine qua non of Trump's Presidency.

That will be a contrast to Trump era where Quackery not Science, superstitions not rationalism are the way. These are tendencies of Fascists. Trump who idolizes Putin and sundry dictators adores all these faddism. It is said in private the Yankee Trump pokes fun of his non college educated blind supporters, but he needs their votes. Those 36% are his base will vote for him come what may - even if Trump caught raping a minor on 4th Avenue of New York city in broad daylight. But he needs more to win his reelection, so he can't even get competitive without the support of his base 

A week is a long time in politics. Three months are eons away. Trump should remember that he lost the popular vote last time to Hillary but won the elections before he won the crucial swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Those states don't look too good for him now. But the extremely crucial swing state of Florida is slowly slipping out of Republicans hands - partly due the rise in the COVID-19 cases in the state this summer and partly due to a nincompoop Governor of the state whose priority is buttering Donald Trump than serving his state (Georgia is not far behind, but will stick to Trump being a stubbornly Red state). If Trump loses Florida, he is toast.

Trump can still turn it around. The Republicans are masters in the art of winning elections. But time is fast  running out for Trump. A month later comes the Labor day, the harbinger of Fall season which is synonymous with the Flue season in America 🇺🇸. The concoction of COVID-19 and Flu virus is a sitting timebomb ready to explode. Add the election fever to that with a flamboyant Trump prone to histrionics on the ballot. We are going to see an eventful next 90 days in the US. Tighten your seat belts and get ready for a turbulent trip.

North Star shoes in my dream

The other day early in the morning I had a dream of wearing a pair of North Star shoes, a popular sneaker and probably the only decent one available during my childhood days. I felt happy, waking up with a fulfilling feeling.

North Star shoes, with black and yellow stripes resembling tiger skin used to cost Rs 99.99 a pair, a sizable amount in the year 1980, the haydays of socialism and closed market economy in India when jeans and sneakers were luxury items. This brand was available in Bata, a chain of stores apart from Carona (no relationship to COVID-19) which offered a decent array of shoes those days in Bhubaneswar.

I requested my dad to get me a pair. My father was always generous to me, fed me exotic, quality food, took us to good restaurants, never hesitated to buy me my favorite books, comics, magazines and took me to watch cricket in Barabati Stadium. But he sneered at the idea of buying North Star shoes, firmly putting down his foot on my longing desire.

His logic - while teaching in BJB College, Bhubaneswar, he has seen the North Star shoes worn only by the CHATARAs (girl chasing vagabonds) and BAZAARIs (free roaming loafers). The hall mark of a BHALA PILA (a good guy) those days, a category students fell into - those who wear only CHAPPAL (Sandal) and may occasionally deviate to slip their feet into some cheap, white Canvas shoes polishing its dirt off using a white paste. My dad's conviction vetoed my desire.

Time and again, I would gape at the North Star shoes peeping through the glass window displayed in front of the BATA Store located in Unit II (probably only one of its kind at that time), doing my window shopping salivating at it, dreaming to wear it one day. But luck wasn't on my side, I could never wear them. The North Star was that shooting star I wished for, so near yet so far. Soon the brand went out of the shelves and out of the market.

Eventually, I forgot about it. Never thought of it for long time, until that morning when I found myself wearing a brand new pair of North Star shoes in my dream. That small, smoldering sparkle of desire never really vanished from the extinguished fire. The wish inside the child inside me never died, it was lying dormant like a volcano, ready to rise as Phenix from the ashes. The ever hidden subconscious desire recalled to manifest itself after decades in form of a dream. No wonder, I woke up with a wonderful sense of fulfillment .

Childhood memories never die. It manifests itself in different ways. India's Prime Minister for 17 long years, Indira Gandhi had an insecure childhood. Her mother died young. Her father was mostly away busy in freedom movement, spending long stints in jail. She had a lonely, insecure childhood. As a teenager hungry for company she readily fell in love with Feroz Gandhi who gave her some attention, ending up marrying him.

Though later in life she became a Prime Minister, her sense of insecurity never died. It was apparent from the way she handled herself. She ruthlessly consolidated her power inside the Congress Party eliminating all her rivals. When Allahabad High Court declared her election null and void she imposed Emergency and put the entire opposition behind the bars. She would never allow someone from her party to complete a full tenure as CM of a state, lest that person becomes a threat to her position. All these actions represent a classic insecure mindset, the stigma during her childhood days forever stalked her. 

Past memories can be very stubborn, especially about the things we longed for as a kid, the things we craved about, our feelings, fantasies and crushes, dwelling deep inside our subconscious mind and surprising us by erupting in dream. It never gets deleted from the memory, stays embedded inside our mind's Recycle bin which is never emptied. We simply learn to live with them.

Why America and India failed to control Coronavirus

After a brief lull in late spring when it seemed that the Coronavirus is on wane in America due to a bit flattening of the curve, I thought we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was wrong. The virus is back again as summer rolls on. Here is my analysis of why America is failing to control the spread of COVID-19 and what went wrong. There could have been an either/or approach to this crisis. Let's take a look at both.

First the "Either" approach - live life the normal way, of course take all the perfunctory precautions like maintain social distancing, wear masks and frequent hand washings. Let the virus wash over the entire nation's population and let America get the herd immunity. I wouldn't prefer it, but it's better than the present confused and chaotic approach, especially leadership missing at the top where buck finally stops - the doorsteps of the President of the United States who still lives in his delusional denial. 

The "Or" approach - Do a complete shutdown. Strictly implement the social distancing. Shut down all the beaches, businesses, spas, saloons, bars, restaurants, gyms et all with only the essential services and stores remain open. Religiously impose the restrictions to isolate and stop the spread of the virus. If we had done this starting in February, we won't be here today. But Mr. Trump at the helm of affairs with tons of foresight predicted that come summer, the virus will miraculously vanish. We are already in summer, the virus is very much alive and kicking.

China took extraordinary measures and was mostly successful in containing it. Many attribute this to their dictatorship. They can ruthlessly impose their agenda. Yet democracies like European countries, Japan, South Korea have done well on the Coronavirus front. 

But why we are where we are today ? Because we followed a mixed approach with mixed messages - one from the Federal government, one from the State Governor, another from the local Mayor of the city. When the Mayor of Atlanta wants to mandate wearing of masks, the Georgia governor sues her decision. This is best example of the Divided States of America. 

We (both US and India) a free country, but that doesn't mean we are free to spread the virus rather than containing it during this pandemic time. It is akin to the mixed economy approach India followed, a bit of socialism and a bit of (crony) capitalism - both failed, contributing to Red Tapism and a classic Hindu growth rate.

Both countries, the world's oldest democracy and the largest democracy are facing turbulent times due to this dilemma of dual approach. It needs to be noted that incidentally both US and India (Brazil is another one) are currently under Right Wing administration who respect Quackery more than Science and spectacularly failed to control the virus. These countries are now the top 3 nations in the world with COVID-19 infections. So much ado and hot air of the Right wingers being efficient rulers ! It yet vindicates that the Right Wingers are good at rhetorics and bad at administration.

Now that the cat is already out of the bag, COVID-19 is unstoppable. This menace will continue to grow unless until an effective vaccine is developed. Till then folks, tighten the belts and bear the ride.

My morning walk this morning

It's time for taking morning walks in the morning as the days are getting hotter with the high temperature reaching 95 (36°C), making the early hours of the day is the best time to get outdoor. Being an early riser, I have done my best to take take advantage of the cool, salubrious weather barely after sunrise.

I take no cell phone or any music listening gadget with me to distract me from listening to nature's music. What can ever beat the music of the nature ! No sooner I stepped out of my home, than the twiiting of birds on a little nest outside my garage sounded rhythmically melodious. Compar to the little birdie's tweets, Mr. Trump's tweet makes him look like an idiot.

Only humans I came across were a couple walking their doggie, keeping a social safe distance from me. We waved "Good Morning" to each other. Golden rays of cool, morning sun sprinkled tons of Vitamin D from top. Nature's Vitamin  beats any Vitamin D from the branded multivitamin pills we get over the counter. I let my body get soaked with it to the fullest.

Suddenly a black cat crossed the road in front of me. I looked around, making sure no one is looking at me, turned back a couple of steps, then trudged ahead. It was my reflex action, as cat crossing the road is considered inauspicious in my culture. Backing up a bit supposedly gets rid of the evil eyes. I love cats. But can't fight superstitions. Cat has nine lives, I have only one.

While mowing lawn, doing yard work or walking, I am perpetually in the lookout for self motivation, imagining my artery as a clogged drain. As I huff and puff ahead, I fantasized my artery getting flushed by a burst of blood rushing through it and clearing it, the same way gushing storm water would clear a clogged drain. A la our Prime Minister Modi's much touted SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN (Clean India Mission), I am on SWACHH DHAMANI ABHIYAN (Clean Artery mission) of my own. 

Saw the gentle waves of the morning breeze fluttering the Pines, Oak, Sweet Gum and Mimosa trees, their freshly washed green leaves from the recent rains now getting sunbathed and looking golden bluish, overlooking the fair skies. Loved watching the bees humming and chasing each other, whizzing past flowers sucking nectar, pollinating plants. Two squirrels kept chasing and outrunning one another. Chirping little birds crisscross the sky as an array of Pelicans passed by, cawing PAON PAON. Far above in the sky two commercial jet liners crossed over, painting a thick white strip tailgating them, forming a gargantuan X sign on the sky.

Nothing beats the pleasure of getting closer to Nature. As the soothing breeze caressed me, bringing a lung full of fresh air, I found my memory tracing me back to this song from movie EK BAAR PHIR (1981) and murmuring..

YEH PAUDHI YEH PATTEN,

YEH PHOOLEN, YEH HAWAYEN.

DIL KO CHURAYE, MUJHKO LUBHAYE

HAI MAN KAHE MEIN JHOOMOON

MEIN GAOON.

The flora, these leaves

These flowers, the air.

It steals my heart, tempts me

My heart tells me to sway and sing.

The killing of the UP Don Dubey

The encounter death of Vikash Dubey, a cop killer gangster from UP didn't surprise me. It reminded me of the popular dialogue in Bollywood movies, "POLICE KE SAATH JYADA DOSTI YA DUSHMANI ACHHI NAHI HAI" - it is  unwise to get too friendly or inimical to police. 

A few days ago the don from the badlands of UP killed nine policemen who came to arrest him. He was well informed by a mole inside the police. When the police arrived at his village farmhouse near Kanpur, they were sitting ducks for the gangster's sharp shooters. A volley of bullets came from nowhere in the darkness, resulting in the killing and maiming of multiple policemen. Apparently the don's private militia made a mincemeat of a trained police force.

This is not the first time such an incident has happened in the lawless Cow belt. In the year 1999, a dreaded gangster of UP named Sriprakash Shukla was killed. The don was famous as contract killer who operated with impunity in UP and Bihar. 

He was thoroughly a pro - after shooting his victim, he would get close and pump in bullets to the victim's head and chest, ensuring his contract is completed without any loose end.

The authorities slept until they came to know that he has taken a contract of Rupess 2 crore (20 million), a sizable amount in 1999 to kill Kalyan Singh, then the Chief Minister of UP. That was the last straw for the cops to smell the coffee and wake up. Sriprakash Shukla, like many mafia Dons had a weakness for girls. 

The police got scent of him entering a 5 star hotel in Delhi with a call girl in company. After his tryst with the girl, his destiny awaited him. The task force to eliminate him waited patiently outside the hotel and grabbed him as he came out after finishing his assignment. He was soon finished by the police and his body was dumped near the NOIDA expressway staged as an encounter. 

Indian Police can't even visit the toilet without Neta's (politican) permission, forget about staging encounters. The top administration of the state must have given the sanctions to get rid of him. It was bound to happen, sooner or later as the gangster went too far by killing the policemen. It was a matter of time he would be eliminated - partly due to keep his mouth shut lest it would be embarrassing for many if he opened it. Other reason - if not killed, it will deeply affect the moral of police.

Not that the police here is the epitome of morality. There is a thin line between the policemen and criminals in the cow belt where the mafia runs its own parallel administration at many places. Police in hand and gloves with them is known for being inept and corrupt. 

Yet if the social media is to be believed, hardly anyone is shedding a tear for Vikas Dubey. Not that they love their police, but their utter lack of confidence in our law and judiciary system makes the encounters a much attractive as well as pragmatic option. In Hindi they say "NA RAHEGA BAAS, NA RAHEGA BANSURI" - there won't be any bamboo left, so also the flute made out of it. In other words, eliminate the root cause in order to prevent it from happening again. A dead gangster is better than an alive one, as in this case. All want instance justice, no one has the patience for long, procedural process.

In the feudal set up of North India, this is certainly not going to be one last such incident. This culture will thrive in the environment of poverty, unemployment, politician - bureaucrat - mafia nexus for long time. Public memory is short. This incident will be forgotten soon as media will move to something more appealing.

Coronavirus - The latest outbreak to hit India

According to a recent study, India will be the worst affected nation by the COVID-19, followed by the United States by the end of February 2021.

It is sad that the number of Coronavirus cases is growing rapidly in JANMA BHOOMI (motherland). India may eventually become the world's second largest country with Coronavirus cases, surpassing United States, my KARMA BHOOMI (place of work) and the current place of residence. This insatiable virus is now unstoppable, only going to spread exponentially until unless a vaccine is found. 

Most of the deadly diseases in India had been imports from outside, COVID-19 being the last to join this bandwagon. Plauge, the scourge of Europe in the Middle Ages, arrived in India on filthy Dutch ships in the 16th century. 

Even Small Pox and various Sexually transmitted Diseases (STDs) came from West, the latest being AIDS. Sadly India, one of the last countries to be infected with AIDS (the first AIDS Patient was identified in India in 1985), now has one of the highest numbers of AIDS patients, next only to China.

The famous Spanish Flu epidemics arrived in India from England in ships docked at Bombay Port in 1918, after being a scourge in America and Europe. Soon it spread like wildfire in India, spreading north towards Cow belt and Eastward to Bengal claiming millions of victim. For the first time in the history of census taking in India, the population in 1921 decreased compared to the last census taken in 1911. Flu pandemic of 1918 made a sizable contribution towards reducing the population which has gone up ever since in every census. 

Only tropical mosquito carrying diseases like Malaria and waterborne diseases a la Cholera and Typhoid were indigenous to India which killed folks en masse. Cholera did the population control in the era without condoms. The Maratha hero Shivaji, who was nicknamed as "Mountain Rat" by Aurangzeb for  successful raising a guerrilla warfare against the Mughal Emperor, succumbed to Typhoid when he was only 52. Utkalamani Gopabandhu Das, the social reformer and freedom fighter from Odisha who served people during Cholera epidemics ironically perished another waterborne disease called Typhoid.

Corona is the new Cholera, though due to more awareness and superior medical facilities the death rate due to COVID-19 is much lower. Hope a vaccine is found soon to make Corona vanish into the history of communicable diseases like Cholera and Small pox - the sooner, the better.